Lovely Books
by emers
Summary: Catherine loved books and her very unique life. She didn't feel like there was anything missing in her world. Soda and the gang were trying to sew their lives back together again. Then Catherine found a little black journal... Takes place after the book.
1. New Books bring Unexpected Company

Disclaimer: First of all, do I actually need one of these? Oh well if I don't, here it goes: I do not own _The Oustiders _or any of its totally awesome characters. As a matter of fact, I don't wish that I owned it, either. I just worship the ground S.E. Hinton walks on for letting people write fan fiction about her stories. Oh yeah, I do own Andrew, Sarah, Catherine, Teresa, Charles, Cassandra, Francis, Melody, Mrs. Peirce, and any other characters I make up to be used in my story. However, because there is a lot of _Pride and Prejudice _reference in this story, I do not own the name Catherine Bennet or any references in here to any work by Jane Austen. I do own the Catherine in my story, her personna at least. Now have fun reading my story; it is my very first one, after all. Please review! I need all the constructive criticism I can get!

Chapter 1:

New Books bring Unexpected Company

Catherine's Point of View

"Hmmmm…." I mumbled, smiling as I finished the end of the novel. Love and happiness. Those were not things you say or see often in Tulsa. But it's in books, and that's why I read them. This particular book was _Pride and Prejudice_. My favorite book, and one that I had just finished reading for, I think, the seventeenth time.

I had read everything by Jane Austen- or at least all of her books that the very, very small Tulsa Public Library had. But I loved how small it was, and how no one else hung out there. The soft pillows on the cushy blue couch near the dusty windowsill were mine to sit, read, and daydream in on weekends. The hard wooden chairs and tables were mine to use after school while doing my homework. No one seemed to come to the library other than Joyce, the elderly librarian, and me. And at that moment, Joyce was walking over with- a new shipment of books!

I shrieked and hopped out of my seat. Joyce smiled.

"You know, Catherine dear, you are in a library." She chided. Oh, I forgot! My name is Catherine, Catherine Bennet. If you've read _Pride and Prejudice_, you may see the coincidence in this. However, Catherine Bennet in the book is supposed to be flighty, overly silly, and coughs a lot. I, personally, don't think I am any of those things.

I just laughed and helped Joyce with the cart that contained all of the new books she had just finished putting clean white coded stickers onto.

" Where'd these come from?" I asked Joyce, who was now wheeling another cart of books into the room.

" Oh, a very nice family donated all of these yesterday. I have three more cartloads too! I told the young man that came that we didn't have many people who came here often and that they wouldn't be getting much use but he didn't seem to mind. As a matter of fact, he seemed eager to get rid of them, like they caused him pain or confusion. I wonder why. But, a donation is a donation and I need you to put all of them on the shelves please."

"Sure thing," I replied and pulled a stack of books into my hands and went off to sort them. Oh, here's another thing that I have forgotten to mention so far: Joyce is my boss and I work part time at the library. I love my job. I would love it even if the library was packed with people, but the fact that it isn't makes me love it even more. It pays well, even for part time, and all I am doing is hanging out all day. I feel like I am being paid to do my homework and to read! I mean, I would read and do my homework anyway, but this is like a bonus. Occasionally, however, on days like this one, I do have some work to do.

As I walked past the tables and to the books, I glanced at the books I had in my hand. A biography of Robert Frost- ooh nice, _A Tale of Two Cites_- I read that in English last year, _Mansfield Park_ by Jane Austen- Darn it! I bought that yesterday thinking that we would never get it here, _Shakespeare's Sonnets_- we had three copies already, and a small black journal.

Hmmm… I wondered. Possibly this was Joyce's and she accidentally put it in here. I checked the spine; she had put a sticker on it. It read: Curtis, Ponyboy, Outsiders, The, fiction. I opened the book and on the first page, handwritten, it said: _The Outsiders_ by Ponyboy Curtis.

This book puzzled me. I had never heard of it before. As I finished putting away that stack of books, I set this one by my book bag so I could take a closer look at it later. As I continued to put the other books away, I thought about the book still. The first thing that struck me was the name of the author: Ponyboy Curtis. Sure the name was… interesting but that wasn't why I was thinking of it. It sounded familiar. Wasn't he a guy at my school? I couldn't recall his face but I could have sworn I had heard or seen the name before. Or was it in the paper?

I spent the two hours it took me to put away all the books pondering the name Ponyboy Curtis. There was a fire last year that a couple of teens saved some children from. Was he one of the teens? Or one of the kids? And either way, how was he able to write a book? Or was it even a book? It's handwritten; it may have been a journal that was accidentally put into the pile. I've got to read that thing…

As I finished with the books, I looked at my watch. It ten past five. Wow, the day had gone by fast. I put _The Outsiders_ behind the front desk, grabbed my bag and waved goodbye to Joyce.

It was a clear, sunny Saturday afternoon so I decided to walk home from the library. I usually took the bus because I was tired but today, I felt refreshed. I guess having work to do is a lot less tiring than sitting around all day. My house was about a mile away and this was the safest part of Tulsa, so I didn't have much to worry about. If I was on the east or west side of town, I would have been jumped the minute I started walking alone.

But this wasn't the east or the west side; where I lived was dead center. The neutral area of town. Surprisingly enough, there is a neutral area here. It's the very small area between the east side slums and the west side villas. It was where the 'middle class' people- like me lived. The east side is for the greasers, the poor kids who were known for greasing their hair, stealing, getting into fights, and getting jumped or jumping others. The west side is for the Socials, or Socs, who are the damn richest kids I've ever seen. They have giant houses, giant parties, giant closets, and giant egos. They beer blast and waste their parents money right and left when not spending their time terrorizing and jumping the poor greasers.

I am not a fan of either of the groups. Quite frankly, I don't think that they should exist. But as one person alone, I would never be able to change this.

On the way home, I thought of the title of that book I had found; The Outsiders. Was that referring to the greasers? Or the soc's? Or both? Or was it referring to us, the middle class? Or were the people in it really outsiders? What's the book about? I hadn't even bothered to glance at any of the pages, other than the title page. That was stupid.

As I reached my the house, I saw an all to familiar sleek black mustang. That was Mrs. Peirce's car and Mrs. Peirce was the social worker. Crap. She wasn't supposed to be here until next month. This meant something was wrong. I became tense and hastened my speed to the door.

Well, here's the third thing that has slipped from my memory that I probably should have told you in the first place: I am an orphan. It sounds so sad when I put it like that but there's no other way of saying it. I have no parents or, in fact, any known relatives at all. My parents died when I was a few days old, I'm not sure how.

So my whole life I have been an orphan, living with other orphans. There are eight of us in the house. We are a part of Mrs. Peirce's study to see if we can support each other as a family unit on our own. The orphanage pays for our house and we get food stamps for a certain amount of food each month. We get personal visits from Mrs. Peirce every month, and we had just been paid a visit last week. So she shouldn't have been here now.

I continued to worry as I all but ran to the front steps of the house. We couldn't have done anything wrong. Andy, Sarah and I kept way to close a control over anything and everything that went on for them to need to break us up. This meant that there was probably a slip in the funds, and that meant they would have to shut us down. I sure as hell did not want that! I was panicking.


	2. UnexpectedCompanybringsTroublingTidings

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own anything from _The Outsiders, _but I do own my characters, blah, blah, blah. I own my shoes, too. I hope you have liked my story so far. I will be updating as fast as my sister, Emily, can editthe chapters. She is very thorough, though- and a slow reader, so one chapter seems to take her hours.

Chapter 2:

Unexpected Company brings Troubling Tidings

My hand was shaking as I pulled out my keys to open the door. I had to take several large breaths before actually opening it. When I finally managed to turn my key in the lock and push myself into the house, I peered in to the front room cautiously to see if Mrs. Peirce was actually there. Sadly, she was.

There, sitting on the couch with Sarah, was Mrs. Peirce, who looked up at me with a large, painful-looking smile when she heard my footsteps.

"Catherine, dear. Nice to see you!" she said in her usual, calm tone.

"Mrs. Peirce! What a nice surprise! We weren't expecting you so soon." I said in my best happy voice. I really hope she wasn't here with bad news.

"Come and sit down and I will be able to tell you why I have come." She said, patting the seat next to her. I sat down and she turned to Sarah, who was also trying to hide her fear.

" Sarah, dear, where are Andrew and the other children?" she asked calmly.

" Andrew took everyone except Melody to the park after he got home from work around a half hour ago so that I could prepare dinner and wait for Catherine. Melody is having her normal evening nap."

"Wonderful, dear, wonderful," she said, "It will be much easier to tell you two the news first, and you can tell the rest."

"You aren't shutting us down, are you?" I asked, nervously. I couldn't resist any longer, I needed to know!

"Oh, no dear." Mrs. Peirce smiled warmly as I gave a long exhale, " However, the price of rent on this house has just gone up and the home can no longer pay for it."

"Do we have to leave Tulsa?" asked Sarah, and I was thinking the same thing.

" Luckily, no. We have found another home for you on the eastern part of the city…" Wait…she just said that the new house is in the EAST! That's greaser territory!

Sarah looked slightly shocked but was able to speak before I could.

" Oh…alright." She smiled and I followed her lead.

" So I came by to bring some boxes that dear Andrew can help me unload from the car and to tell you that you will be moving by next Sunday, alright."

" Wonderful," I smiled. " But do we have to change schools? Or day care for Melody?"

"You don't need to change schools, but it will be a bit of a longer drive to places. And I have arranged for the all the little children to go to a new day care facility before and after school and all day for Melody."

" Is it a good place?" Sarah asked, you're never sure about these things…

" Oh yes, I have visited myself. It is great to hear you take such an interest in the children. I am very proud of this group." Sarah and I shared a glance and a pride-filled smile. We really were a family.

Just then, Andrew and the others came through the door.

"Mrs. Peirce!" cried Andrew as he ducked his head under the doorway and came to join us in the living room. " Weren't you just here last week?" He gave me a look that clearly asked, are we being shut down? I answered with a slight shake of the head and a calm down look. His anxious face quickly formed a genuine smile and he was able to listen more clearly. The other kids came in behind him. I think I'll take this time to introduce everyone. There are eight of us living together, and we take great care in keeping it that way.

Andrew Dennis is the eldest at nineteen. He graduated high school last year and goes part time to University of Oklahoma while also working as a carpenter for a construction company. I have known him since his family died in a fire when he was five. He still has the same big blue eyes, round boyish face and highlighted curly brown hair that he did back then, too. However, at 6'5'', he is now quite a bit taller- and from all the construction work, a lot buffer. I love Andy so much. He is the closest thing I have had to a big brother and he has always protected me. And I protect him, but he seems to have to protect me more.

Next is Sarah Jennings, the second oldest at eighteen. She is my best friend and a senior at Tulsa High, just like me. She works part time as a waitress at a diner on the west side. I feel so bad for her sometimes, the socs really do treat their "help" awful. Sarah, however, being kind and sweet, but still very independent and strong, seems to be able to handle it. She has been this way since I met her at the orphanage when she was one and a half. Her mom gave her up as a baby. Every once in a while, she thinks about trying to track her down, but she hasn't yet. Sarah has long, curly brown hair, a rosy complexion and soft brown eyes. She reminds us all of Snow White, which we all went to see the moment it came out in theatres- after being told we just had to or he would go nuts by Francis, who was five at the time. At five foot, Andy towers over Sarah. It is funny to see them stand next to one another.

I am the third eldest. At seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, Andy, Sarah, and I make up the oldest of our family, and we are therefore the leaders. We keep the house organized and working with ease, which we all like because it means more family time. I am, like I said, seventeen and a senior in high school and I work part time at the library. All I know about my parents is that they died just after I was born and I have been either at the orphanage or with these guys ever since. Unlike Sarah, I don't really want to know why or how my parents died. I think it would cause too much pain, and I don't like to dwell on the past. If Sarah, Andy, and I were to stand in height order, I would be in the middle at 5'8". I am somewhat tall and gangly. I have long dishwater blonde hair that I HATE! I hate it with a passion! I wish I was a brunette; it would match my eyes. My eyes are very, very dark green. They are my favorite thing about me. They are unique. Most people with green eyes don't have them as dark as mine. They are usually kind of hazelish also, but mine are just straight emerald.

The fourth member of our crew is Teresa Montgomery, or Tessa. She is fourteen and, unfortunately, she has to keep a job too. She works part time at the local vet office, bathing and walking pets. We feel so bad that she had to get a job, just so that we could provide for everyone, but she doesn't seem to mind. She loves animals and she loves to walk! Tessa also loves her hair, which is a fiery red that with the help of Sarah, she keeps in a short, curly bob. She has already surpassed Sarah on the height scale and she is gaining on me at 5'6". She says she wants to be taller but I keep telling her, no. Tallness sucks-most of the time. Tessa's eyes are a deep gray that show her emotions. She has a very, very hard time keeping secrets. She tried to keep how she was orphaned secret for a very long while, but couldn't. It turns out she was beat by an abusive father and was sent to the home at three and then got sent to live with us at nine. She actually used to have an older brother, but he refused to take care of her or something. So instead, she found a loving family in us.

Oh, by the way, Sarah, Andy, and I have been living with one another since we were thirteen, twelve, and eleven and then they slowly began to add other kids into the mix. When we were that young, they had a social worker living with us all the time but by the time Andy was fifteen, they started the whole monthly visits thing.

Number five is Charles Anderson, more commonly known as Charlie while Mrs. Peirce is over and Chubby the rest of the time. We call him Chubby because he is naturally stick thin. It's a joke, basically. Chubby is ten, almost eleven and like I said, is pretty tall for his age and pretty thin. He is in the fifth grade at Tulsa elementary. His parents died in a car accident when he was five and he and his sister came to live with us. He is naturally very pale and is very, very towheaded. He also has a pair of icy blue eyes to match his hair. But he is one of the sweetest, nicest boys I have ever met. He refuses to even hurt an ant.

Next is Chubby's sister, Cassandra Anderson, or Cassie, or Cassy Wassy, or anything else you can think of calling her. We think up new names for her on a regular basis, and she, who is just as sweet as her older brother, doesn't mind. Cassie is the female version of Chubby. They both look and act exactly alike. Their only difference is their age; Cassie is only eight and in the third grade.

Seventh in line is Francis, who we call Fuzzy, because of his frizzy brown hair. Fuzzy is six and the cutest, most adorable, most outspoken, and most annoying kindergartener to ever reside in Tulsa, if not, Oklahoma. He can make you want to scream in a matter of seconds, but when he looks at you with his tiny hands behind his back, tilting upwards so you can see his watery brown eyes looking up at you, all you'll want to do his hug him and give him all the ice cream he will ever want. But don't, because he will start bouncing off the walls. Fuzzy, the poor thing, was left in a telephone booth right after his birth. There was no record of his birth or anything, so some old foagy at a police station decided to name the baby after himself, Francis Shoebensterner. If you must laugh, please don't let Francis hear you, he does have a tendency to bite.

Last but not least, at age three and just around two feet tall is Melody Engles. Melody is an adorable three year old with short, dark brown hair and blue eyes just as big as Andy's. People mistake them for father and daughter all the time. It is hilarious when we are at the grocery store and they think that Sarah is the mother too! The looks the two of them have on their faces are priceless! They might as well be Melody's parents, too, considering that they both dote on her. Melody's mother died in childbirth and her father was unknown. She actually came to us soon after she turned one. I hate changing diapers but I have gotten used to it. She is almost potty trained, now and I am awaiting the day that we no longer have to keep diapers around with much pleasure!

As soon as Fuzzy saw me in the living room, he ran in and jumped onto my lap. His little arms wrapped around my neck and he shouted excitedly " Kitty!!! Kitty!!! You're home early!"

He was right. Normally, I got home at around six thirty, just in time for dinner. But I didn't have homework or anything to do after I finished sorting the books so I left for home much earlier than I normally do.

I laughed and replied to Fuzzy as everyone else came into the room.

"Yes, I am home early. And Mrs. Peirce here has some news for us. If everyone could sit down quietly we could listen to her couldn't we?"

The children sat down on the opposing couch, chairs, and on the floor in front of us. They gave Mrs. Peirce their full attention. She looked shocked. I smiled. This is how we always behaved, we didn't need to know any other way. Following orders means less stress and more happiness, and all of us knew that.

Mrs. Peirce explained to everyone that we were moving and that we would still be in Tulsa, at the same schools, just in a different part of town. Everyone got very excited. Truth be told, I was excited too. This would be our first moving experience, other than coming here from the orphanage. I just wasn't too excited about where we were moving.

As soon as Mrs. Peirce was finished, Sarah gave out orders.

" Charlie, Francis, and Cassandra, please set the table for dinner and Tessa, please check on Melody for me. Will you be joining us for dinner Mrs. Peirce?"

Mrs. Peirce smiled and replied " No thank you, dear, but if I could have you girls and dear Andrew please come with me to my car. I will give you the boxes and some more moving details."

To be Continued...


	3. Unexpected Visitor brings Deadly Present

Disclaimer: Well, once again, I do not own _The Outsiders_. I don't own a skateboard either. I do, however, own a pair of roller-skates.

Dedication: I am elated to announce that this chapter is dedication to my first three reviewers, Laughing, Queen Jane Approximately, and applejax815, who, mind you, are the best three reviewers in the entire world! Thanks so much for your inspiring reviews. The warmest regards go out to the three of you. I'm so excited; three reviews is three more than I was expecting to get!

Now, on with the story, sorry it is taking so long for me to post. Now, however, I have written up to chapter eight, and Emily, my sister, has edited up to chapter six, so chapters should come much more often.

Chapter 3

An Unexpected Visitor brings Deadly Presents

Andy, Sarah and I followed Mrs. Peirce to her black mustang. She gave us each a stack of around thirty moving boxes and told us that the movers who will help with the furniture will be here next Sunday at ten in the morning. She also gave us our new address, 2700 Green Avenue.

She was about to leave when she turned to look at us. She seemed to be mulling something over in her head. Then, suddenly, she opened the trunk of her car once again and pulled out a black shoebox. She took one look at it and sighed. Then, she turned to us, a grim expression on her tan features.

"Now dears," she said, " I am aware that the side of town you are moving to is… not the best." I was expecting this. She wasn't completely out-of-the-loop from the goings-on in Tulsa. But I wasn't expecting what she said next.

"I wanted to give you some extra precaution. Take these…" She took the lid off the shoebox and handed us each a six-inch switchblade. My mouth fell open in shock. That was the last thing I was expecting in the box.

" Here is one for Tessa too." She handed it to Andy. " Be careful. I trust that these will not be used for anything other than self-defense and that the children will not get to them. Keep them hidden. They are for protection only."

" Yes ma'am." We said in unison, each thoroughly flabbergasted. She got into her car and left soon after that. I can't even remember if I said goodbye.

As her mustang drove slowly down the street, I looked at Andy and Sarah; they were staring, incredulously, at their switchblades. I looked down at the switch in my hand. I felt, powerful, but I guess that is how anyone would feel with a blade in his or her hands.

Eventually, Andy walked inside, and Sarah followed, each tucking their blades into our pockets. I pulled my sweatshirt down over the pockets of my jeans, to make sure no one could see the bulge the blade made there. Then I followed them inside.

Dinner went like clockwork, as it normally did. Sarah cooked, Chubby, Fuzzy, and Cassie set the table, Chubby, Fuzzy, and Cassie cleared the table, Tessa and I did the dishes, and then everyone went to bed. Well, almost everyone.

Sarah, Andy, Tessa, and I congregated in Andy's room to have a discussion about these moving plans of ours.

" Well, it could be worse, couldn't it?" said Tessa, who was examining her new shiny black switch.

" Well, yes," said Sarah, " But the east side is not the best you know. And I'll have to get a new job and so will Kitty…"

"No!" I said, very abruptly. There was no way I was giving up my job. Oh, and by the way, my nickname is Kitty. Yes, just like in _Pride and Prejudice_.

"I will be able to get into work earlier if we live in the east and I could always drop you off at the library, Cat." Said Andrew. I smiled at Andrew graciously.

"Thank you. Plus, Sarah, not having to deal with the soc's at your work will be good for you. And Tessa, you'll be closer to the vet's too" I said. Tessa nodded. "The only problem will be school. We will have to take the bus or something."

"Well, we'll have to make do. And we'll have to keep the kids from going outside of the yard." Said Sarah.

" Good luck with that!" said Andrew, Tessa, and I. We all laughed, but very nervously. We knew that our way of living was going to have to change and we would have to live with the fear that the kids would never be completely safe. However, in Tulsa, no one is ever completely safe.

Tessa, Sarah and I left Andrew's room for the room we shared soon after. None of us wanted to talk about the move, so we all just put on our pajamas quietly and got into bed. Normally, we would talk for a little while; about school or work or our friends or things we wanted to do, but not today. All three of us were just too shaken by the events of the day.

As I laid down and closed my eyes, basking in the warmth of my covers, I thought of that book again, The Outsiders. I had forgotten about it completely when I saw Mrs. Peirce's car in the driveway. I will read it on Monday since I had the day off tomorrow, I decided. And I fell into a deep sleep.

To Be Continued...Very, very soon.


	4. The Boys Next Door

Disclaimer: List of things I own: My Mickey Mouse hat, my Cinderella toothbrush, and my paperback copy of _The Outsiders_.

List of things I do not own: _The Outsiders_ and just about everything else in the world. As a matter of fact, I may not even own my Mickey hat… This may be my sister's…

Authors Note: Hi people, thanks to everyone that reviewed. I have still heard nothing but good things! Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I will probably be updating on weekends from now on, because of school and work and all that jazz. In this chapter, the gang finally comes into the picture. I hope you love it!

Chapter 4

Omniscient Narrator

Mrs. Peirce made her way to the Curtis home after paying her visit to the kids. She visited the Curtis house monthly as well, ever since Mr. and Mrs. Curtis died almost two years before. Darrel, she thought, was doing a fairly good job with the boys, considering where they live. Couldn't he help Andrew, Sarah, and Catherine get situated as well? She decided to rent the house next to the Curtis's for them for that reason.

As she turned onto Green Street, she saw Ponyboy and Darry playing football in the clearing across the way. That is nice, she thought, but where is Sodapop? He was normally the one playing football with Ponyboy. She turned into their driveway, got out, and knocked on the door to see if he was home.

On the other side, Steve Randle and Sodapop Curtis were playing a very quiet game of cards. Steve's attempts to get Soda to smile and cheat like he normally did had all gone down the tubes, so there they were, playing their first decent game of poker, not so much as slipping a card underneath the sleeves of their DX shirts. Soda had not been in the best of moods since, well, since Sandy left. And since Johnny and Dally died. Soda hated to think it, but really, this funk was because of Sandy and not them. Sure, he was sad about losing them, but he lost the love of his life, who he thought he was going to marry, and she didn't even die! He didn't think he was ever going to love again.

He and Steve heard the knock on the door and panicked. The only person that ever knocked was… Mrs. Peirce! They looked at one another, then around the messy room, and then to the cigarettes dangling from their lips. They shot from their seats, sending their card game to the floor.

Steve began to frantically throw clothes, cards, books, bottles, shoes and anything else that was strewn across the room into Darry's bedroom while Soda got out as many air fresheners that he could find and began spraying the room.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Peirce knocked again. Hmmm… she though, maybe Sodapop had to work today. She was about to turn and go to the park when the door opened.

"Stephen!" she exclaimed amiably, " Good to see you dear."

"Uhh…hi Mrs. P." said Steve, who was a little uncomfortable, considering he was hiding an armful of empty beer bottles, courtesy of Two-Bit, behind his back. He ran his free hand through his curly brown locks.

"Tell me, dear, is Sodapop home?"

"I'm right here Mrs. P! Come on in!" said Sodapop, coming to the door, and putting on his best smile, "Didn't you just come last week?"

"Why, yes I did, dear," she said walking into the room, distracted enough that Steve managed to sneak away and throw the bottles into Darry's bedroom. He took one look at the room before closing the door; it was a mess now. Darry is not going to be happy, he thought.

" Is it just me, " Mrs. Peirce continued, sniffing the air, "Or does this room smell like lemon?"

"Your right! It does!" said Soda, sniffing the air and almost puking at the smell of the disinfectant he liberally sprayed about the room, "Would you like to sit down?"

"No dear, I would just like to speak with you, Ponyboy, and Darrel for a moment."

"Well they are across the street at the park. Shall we? Steve, are you coming?"

Steve nodded and they steered Mrs. Peirce towards the door before she could get a closer look and take a better smell.

Pony and Darry were playing a game of catch in the park. Ever since Soda ran away almost eight months before, they had stopped their constant arguing and became much closer. The only problem was that Soda was becoming more and more distant. So here they were, playing a game of catch and pondering Soda's behavior as Mrs. Peirce, Steve, and Soda himself came walking up to them.  
Darry saw them first and fumbled the ball. " Uh oh…" he muttered.

"What?" said Pony. Darry pointed.

"Uh oh is right." Said Pony, " Wasn't she just here last week?"

"Yeah…" said Darry.

"Ponyboy! Darrel! Nice to see you!" called Mrs. Peirce.

" Mrs. Peirce! What a pleasant surprise!" Darry lied, trying to smile.

"Why thank you, Darrel. I needed to ask you and you brothers a favor." She said, as nice as ever.

" Anything, Mrs. P." said Ponyboy.

Pony, Steve, Darry, and Soda were now huddled around Mrs. Peirce like she was the quarterback in a game of football.

" Well, have I mentioned the child family program we have at the home?"

"I don't believe so…" said Darry, nervously.

" Well the Child Family Program is where we rent a house for around eight to ten orphans of different ages and have them live together as a supporting family unit." She explained, " We actually happen to have a child family in Tulsa but the house we were renting for them has become very expensive. So, they are moving into the house next to yours."

"Oh…" said Darry, not sure whether to be shocked or relieved. No one else seemed to be able to speak.

" I was wondering if you would possibly, well, if you could help them get settled into this new neighborhood. They have never moved before and, well….this isn't the…best of neighborhoods…"

" We will be glad to help." Said Soda, this time. He didn't know why, but he felt that he should help these people. They were even worse off than him.

" So all of them, they are orphans?" said Ponyboy.

" Yes and I visit them monthly as well. Darrel, you may know the eldest of them. I believe he works for the same roofing company as you. Andrew Dennis?"

"Andy? Yeah, I know him…" Andy was one of the people Darry talked to at work. He wondered why he never mentioned his home life.

" And the three eldest girls go to high school with you, Ponyboy, and you, Stephen. Their names are Sarah, Catherine, and Teresa. Sarah and Catherine are seniors and Teresa is a freshman, I believe. Charles, Cassandra, and Francis are in primary school and Melody is just three and will be going to a day care center just a little bit from here."

" So are they greasers or socs?" asked Steve.

" I am not familiar with either of those terms, Stephen…"  
"Were they from the east or west side of town?" he asked again.

" They currently live in a small house in the center."

"Oh…" thought Soda. Middle classers. Then they don't need our help. " So they kind of have it better off than we do?" he said, ignorantly.

Mrs. Peirce looked at him, a forlorn expression on her face. " No, Sodapop, they don't. This is the least we could do for these children…"

" But we don't have parents just like they do and we…" Mrs. Peirce cut him off.

" At least you knew your parents, dear, at least you knew them. Some of these children were abandoned at birth, others had parents who died when they were born, and others have vague memories of their parents from when they were five years old… No, Sodapop, you are far better off than they are…"

Everyone was speechless.

" I'd better be going now," said Mrs. Peirce, walking towards her car, sighing, " Please make them feel at home. They'll be here in a week. I will see you in three weeks." Then she got in her car and left.

They all walked back to the Curtis house silently. Pony and Darry were shocked and so was Steve but Soda was by far the most. He felt guilty about what he said. He certainly wanted to help them out, but he still didn't understand. At least they didn't feel the pain of their parents dying.

When they got to their door, they found Two-Bit had let himself in and was presently sniffing the room.

" Hey why does it smell like a bathroom in here?" he asked, turning on Mickey and walking to the kitchen to help himself to cake.

" I don't know…" said Darry as he walked to his room. Uh oh. Steve and Soda turned to look at each other.

"SODAPOP!!!!!!!!!" Darry yelled.

" Oh shit." They said in unison.

To Be Continued…


	5. The Smell of Fresh Paint in the Morning

A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I have no excuse for not updating earlier. I've been done with this chapter for a while now. I'm just lazy. I'm getting senioritis three years early! I haven't even applied to colleges yet…or taken the SAT's…uh oh. Well, feel free to read and review, while I go and contemplate the direction my life is going. Oh, wait, I forgot, I don't have a life. My bad. This chapter was fun for me. I hope it is fun for you. More chapters will be coming your way soon. Unless I get lazy again…

Chapter 5:

The Smell of Fresh Paint in the Morning

Kitty's Point of View

Moving day came much faster than I expected, and I still hadn't managed to read _The Outsiders_. Andy, Tessa, Sarah, and I decided that it would be best if we would take the week off so that we could finish packing and prepping to move. With eight kids living together, you can bet that there were several spots in the carpet that needed scrubbing, walls that needed washing, and doors that needed a paint touch-up.

Finally it was Sunday and by eleven, we were on our way to our new home with the moving van not far behind us. Suitcases full of clothes and our smaller possessions were cramped between us in our van. Andy was driving and Sarah was in the passenger seat. Fuzzy and Chubby were in the middle, and Tessa, Cassie, and Melody were in the back seats. And where was I? I was in the very back of the car, sitting on the floor, with five suitcases and a television on top of me. Yes, we all were cramped on this drive, but I was by far the most. Sarah, Tessa, and I played rock paper scissors for this not-so coveted spot, and of course, I couldn't cheat fast enough so I lost.

I couldn't even see where we were going. Andy was swerving left and right and I almost threw up on several occasions, after getting a suitcase shoved into my stomach. On one very painful occasion, I screamed "Andy!" so loud, he stepped on the brakes and everything went flying.

"Yes, Cat?" he asked, his voice just dripping with glee.

"Your…reckless…driv…ing is hurt..ing…me." I said, not very coherently. Tessa turned around and looked down at me.

"No wonder, you have a TV on your stomach." She said, laughing. The TV had landed on my stomach, I had two suitcases on my left leg and my other leg was stuck in a very painful v position between two others. I was resting my head, quite uncomfortably, on a suitcase as well.

" I promise to be more cautious," said Andy from the front of the car, " After all, I don't want to break the television."

" I hate you Andy." I moaned.

" I love you to Kitty-Cat." He began to drive again.

Eventually we did make it to the house and thankfully, the TV was not injured during Andy's wild ride. I also managed to get out of the car without a broken bone, but with a few welts on my arms and legs.

The moving men had already begun to unload the furniture when I was able to leave the car. I got up and took a good look at our new house. It was a small white house with a blue tiled roof. It looked freshly painted so I assumed that the home had it painted for us. There was a white picket fence around a freshly mowed lawn and petunias in white window boxes on the two front windows. We had a small backyard as well, with a flowerbed on one side and an oak tree on the other. It was a very pretty house. Maybe, I thought, this won't be so bad after all.

But the houses next to ours were not exactly freshly painted or newly gardened. The house to our right had boarded up windows and its grey paint was pealing right off the outside walls. The place didn't even have a lawn, just several piles of dirt hidden behind a rod iron fence. The house on our left was much better looking, but it still wasn't like most houses where we used to live. The lawn was turning a bit yellow and the grass needed to be mowed. The pale blue paint was only slightly pealing, but one of the railings was dangerously close to falling off. There were no flowers in the wooden window boxes and the backyard looked a bit like a forest. There was a green truck in the driveway and lights and some Elvis music were on in the house.

Hmmm…Elvis lovers…, I thought. I can deal with that. I like Elvis' music. The Beatles are cool, too. I am pretty much into anything. I was beginning to think this might not be so bad. But my musical thoughts were disrupted when I heard the breaking of glass and some yelling from down the street.

"Get out! And stay out you filthy whore!" yelled a menacing male voice.

I heard some shrieking as well and I hurried into the house with everyone else. I had changed my mind; this move is going to suck.

As I walked inside our new 'humble abode', I could smell more fresh paint. They really went all out for us, didn't they? Chubby came up to me as I looked around our new sage green living and entry room.

" We have all picked our rooms." He said quietly, " You are sharing with Sarah and Tessa." He stared at his feet. I picked him up and moved his floppy blonde hair from his eyes.

" Well are you gonna show me your room or am I gonna hafta wait for Fuzzy?" I said smiling. I put him down and took his hand. He looked up at me and smiled shyly, showing his big blue eyes to the world. He took me down a small hallway that was painted the same sage color as the living room. I laughed when I saw the doors.

Fuzzy, with the greatest intentions, had written everyone's names on their doors. I could hear Sarah down the hall, lightly chastising him in her soft 'Snow White' voice.

"Now dear, we have to erase all of these now don't we." She cooed while Andy thudded around. "What were you thinking Fuzzball!" Andy was pretending to be angry, I could tell. Truthfully, he was just as amused as I was.

I turned to Chubby again. "Well are ya gonna let me in or what?" He opened the door to reveal a dark blue room with, brand new bunk beds! Chubby, in his own quietly excited way, conveyed this to me. Fuzzy had also labeled the bunks. On the left of the room on the bottom was Andy's bunk. Poor Andy, I thought. He was over six feet tall and he was sleeping on a bed made for a ten to twelve year old. Not to mention, Fuzzy was sleeping on the bunk on top of him and he snores. Chubby had the bunk across from him and Cassie was on top. Even though she was the epitome of a girly girl, Cassie didn't seem to mind sharing a room with the boys. She was up on her bunk, happily laying down her princess bedding. In our old house, it was she and Tessa in one room, Sarah and me in the next, then Fuzzy and Chubby, and Andy and Melody got their own rooms. But now, we went from having five bedrooms all the way to only two! At least the rooms are bigger than our old ones, I thought.

Chubby showed me to my room next. It had been painted a light lavender color. In there, Melody was looking at a picture book and Tessa was DRAWING ON THE WALLS! No wonder Fuzzy was doing it, Tessa inspired him! She was sitting there, on the bunk, drawing elaborate flowers onto the wall, which she had to share with me. Oh, Tessa's the artist of the family. Every family needs one, don't they?

" Hey do I get to have a say in what goes on our wall?" I asked leaning on the doorframe.

She turned to look at Chubby and me," I'm going to do your part of the wall too, don't worry, and with something else as well. Oh, and I am going to add paint, I'm just sketching first."

" Can you do my room too?" Asked Chubby, shyly.

" Of course Chubby buddy. Fuzz already asked me for sailboats on his and Cassy Wassy wants a princess castle."

" Cake for me!" said Melody.

" Oh yeah, Melody's getting cakes on her walls." Said Tessa, turning back to the wall.

I walked across the room and picked her up from the bed she was now going to share with Sarah. She was making the big switch from crib to bed; words cannot express how excited we all were for her.

" C'mon Melly, lets go see the kitchen." I grabbed Chubby's hand and we left.

" I want cake!" said Melody. I pretended to glare.

" Not unless you say pleez." I said in my best Melly voice.

" Pleez!" She glared back at me and I tickled her the rest of the way to our kitchen.  
The kitchen was a sunny yellow with standard cabinets and vinyl checkerboard flooring.

" I dub this the egg room." I said, looking all proper as I banged the end of a ladle on the counter, as if I was knighting it. Chubby laughed. I smiled and began to open up cabinets. They were all completely empty.

"Well, Melly Melly, we're going to have to go to the store before we can bake any cakes."

"WAAAAAAAH!!!!!" she was obviously fake crying.

"WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!" I can play that game too, Melly Welly. Hehehe.

She glared at me. I set her down on the counter and stuck my tongue out. She did the same. I pretended to get offended. I took her down from the counter and set her in front of Chubby.

" Chubby, I am trusting that you will put Melly into as much mortal peril as possible while I am at the store. And do not, repeat DO NOT tell Andy I took the car and that the movers finished and left. Can I trust you to do all this?"

Chubby was used to my jokes. He smiled and nodded. He took Melody's hand and went back down the hallway.

I hopped after them and cried " Howdy Y'all!!!" very exuberantly to anyone that was listening before heading for the door. I opened it just as the most adorable guy I have ever seen was going to ring the doorbell.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Now who might this adorable guy be? I hope this isn't to cheese-filled…

When I say 'humble abode', whoever has read _Pride and Prejudice_ will know what (or who) I am talking about. The next person to review and tell me gets the chapter of their choice dedicated and named after them. I am really desperate for chapter titles…


	6. Attack of the Cakeman!

A/N: Well, it's been quite a while. To any devoted fans I may have, I am really, truly sorry. I have no excuse. Except that nowadays, I've been doing more reading than writing. There are some great stories on this site.

Disclaimer: I realize that I forgot to put one of these last time so, this time. I will do it twice. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not own any characters from _The Outsiders_. Once again, do not own any characters from _The Outsiders. _Now here we go…

Chapter 6

Eyes

Sodapop's Point of View

As I walked up to our new neighbors' gate, I was shocked to see how clean it was. It used to be an old rundown house, painted an awful pink. Now, it was white, so white, and there were pretty flowers and a freshly cut lawn. That won't last long in this part of town, I thought. A big moving truck was just leaving the house as I was walking up the steps and I saw a blue van in the driveway. I was carrying a freshly baked chocolate cake in one hand, the welcome offering that Darry had baked for them. He was at work now but he insisted on making the cake before he went. I don't see why he didn't let me bake it. I don't put that much sugar in… Well, I used to but now… I don't know I guess I lost my taste for sugar…

I was about to ring the doorbell as the door opened, to reveal a pair of big green eyes. But wait a minute; those green eyes were attached to a pretty face, which was connected to a head of blonde hair in a particularly messy ponytail.

She was first to talk. " Ummm… Hi!" she said nicely but a bit confused, " How may I help you?" She leaned a bit on the doorway, but she didn't give me a once over, like most girls would, she just looked straight at me; she had a piercing gaze.

" Oh, sorry, I'm Sodapop Curtis. My brothers and I live next door. Mrs. Peirce…" luckily, before I could start rambling she stopped me.

" Oh Sodapop! Nice to meet you, I'm Catherine. Your brother Darrel works with Andy and I think your brother Ponyboy goes to my school…" She gave me a kind of questioning look when she said Ponyboy.

"Yeah Darry mentioned that…" I mumbled. Then I realized the cake was still in my hands, "Here's a peace offering," I joked.

"A cake!" she said, a bit more excited than I thought she would be, " Thanks, now I don't have to go to the store! Come on in and meet Melody. She'll love you…"

Melody?????

She grabbed my hand and dragged me through the door. Their living room was green and covered in boxes. A girl with brown hair, shorter than Catherine, was labeling the boxes neatly with many different colored sticky notes.

" Soda," said Catherine, " This is Sarah, my…well, I guess you can call her my sister. Yeah, she's my oldest sister. Sarah, this is Sodapop Curtis. You know, the Curtis's that Mrs. Peirce told us about. They live next door."

The girl, Sarah, turned around. She was very pretty, too. She smiled sweetly as she saw Catherine and me.

" Nice to meet you, Sodapop." She held out her hand that wasn't covered in sticky notes and I shook it. " Oh and you brought a cake! Bless you, dear. Melly will love you…"

" Yeah I was told that, thank you." I smiled. Who the heck was Melly???

" Here, let me take that into the kitchen for you." She took the cake and hurried toward the kitchen across the entryway.

" C'mon," said Catherine, " You have to meet Melly now that you have heard so much about her, and Fuzzy and Chubby too." Fuzzy? Chubby? I thought my name was weird…

We headed down a hall towards a bedroom. As she opened the door, I could see purple walls lined with a bed and boxes. Catherine led me in and on the bunk bed that was on the wall opposite us, a girl with short, red hair was painting on the ceiling.

" Tess dearest we've got company, stop acting like Michelangelo." Catherine joked, startlingly the girl a bit.

" Sheesh Kitty, don't do that… oh hi. You look familiar…" The girl gave me a quizzical look and raised her eyebrow. She looked a bit younger than Catherine and Sarah and somehow, looked a lot like Two-Bit. It was weird. Same hair, same eyebrow, same look. Whoa.

Catherine, however, rolled her eyes, " Soda this is Teresa, or Tessa. She's painting her wall, and she says she'll do my wall next. Tessy, stop trying to think so hard. This is Sodapop Curtis. Does the name ring any bells?"

Her face broke into an awkward smile, and I think she even blushed a little bit.

" Oh your Ponyboy's brother," she said, He's in my advanced art class. He's a tuff artist. You look a bit like him too, now that he's blonde."

I think I winced when she said this. I didn't mean to but, well, she brought back Johnny memories. I think that Catherine saw me wince though so she changed the subject. Not to mention, she looked a bit stricken herself…

" Hey you seen Mel? Soda brought a cake." Tessa's eyes widened. Then, she grinned, hopped down from the bed, and hugged me. I was taken aback.

" You did? Bless your wonderful heart. She'll love you, she's in a cake stage, she's been screaming all day for one…" Golly, I was starting to think Melody was either a spoiled girl or a pregnant lady.

" Well let's go find her then." Said Catherine. I followed her out of the room and Tessa began to paint again. We crossed the hall into another room, this one blue. As soon as we walked in, a boy with frizzy brown hair in a pair of red feety pajamas came running at Catherine.

" Kitty! Kitty! Kitty! Kitty! Kitty! Did you see my writing? Sary and Andy was mad but Tessy's gonna PAINT it later. And she's gonna paint me sailboats and a pirate ship Cassy Wassy gets a castle and Chubby wants trains and airplanes but I think that's boring and Melly gets cakes and who's dat Kitty? Is he a robber?" This kid was talking a mile a minute, I could barely keep up, and then suddenly, he was glaring at me.

Catherine laughed and picked the little boy up. " No, this is not a robber. This is Sodapop, our new neighbor. Soda," she said turning to me, " This is Fuzzy. He's in kindergarten and he is…well…a handful." She laughed again. I like her laugh.

She set Fuzzy down again and he held out his hand, "Francis Shoebensterner at your service. " I laughed, not just at his name but also at the fact he was trying to look as serious as possible. I mean he was a five year old with a lisp! But I shook his hand and replied, " It's a pleasure to meet you Francis." Then I saluted him. He giggled and saluted me back.

Meanwhile, Catherine had begun to talk to the girl on the top bunk. She had very, very blonde hair and big blue eyes. She reminded me of Dally, but in a good way. It didn't quite hurt as much to reminisce this time. Catherine pulled the girl off the bed and set her down on the floor. She then turned to me.

" Soda, this is Cassandra. As soon as we find her brother, Chubby, or Charlie, we'll probably find Melody. Cassy, say hi to Soda!" Cassy reacted by waving slightly and then hid behind Catherine's legs.

" C'mon Cassy, you're a big girl now! Don't be nervous." She turned to me again, " Sorry, she's eight but she's still not good with new people."

"Hey," I replied, " My brother is fifteen and he still does that." And so did Johnny, I thought to myself. Catherine smiled and took Cassandra's hand.

" Off to find Melly!" she said and marched out the door. I was about to follow when Francis, who I guess I should call Fuzzy, shouldn't I, took my hand and pulled me too saying, " Hurry up Soda Soda Soda. We need to go go go before the cake is gone!!!!!" He raced me down to the kitchen where a very tall, muscular guy was unloading kitchen appliances. Fuzzy let go of my hand and jumped on him.

" Andy! Andy! Andy! Andy! Andy!" he screamed, " Soda! Soda! Soda! Soda! Soda! Is here!!!!!" Andy nearly dropped the eggbeater he was holding.

" Oh really," he said, picking him up and looking at Catherine, "Where?" Then he looked at me.

" Andy, this is our neighbor, Sodapop Curtis. He brought the cake over there and we are looking for Melly."

Andy smiled and held out his hand, which was just as big as Darry's. No wonder they both worked in the same place. " Nice to meet you. I'm Andrew," he said, shaking my hand, " You're Darry's brother right?" I nodded. " Darry's told me a lot about you and your brother Ponyboy, too. And some guy named Two-Bit and your friend Steve."

It was my turn to laugh now. I could just imagine Darry telling this guy all about Steve and me putting all those bottles in his bedroom. And how Two-Bit is addicted to beers and blondes. Wait…Catherine's a blonde! Uh oh…I call dibs…Wait, what am I saying????? ACK!!!!!!

" Well, where is Melly anyways?" asked Catherine, the blonde. She put Cassandra down and she and Fuzzy left for their room again.

" I think she's in the back yard with Chubby." Wow, Chubby must be a really fat kid if everyone calls him that. "He said something about causing her as much pain as possible… Ring any bells?" He laughed as Catherine stuck her tongue out and left the room. I waved goodbye and followed.

" Oh and my brothers will come and say hi later. Darry's working a shift today, though." I said as I left. Andy nodded and smiled as I left. He seemed like a nice guy. I followed Catherine back down the hall and through the last door. It led to a kind of laundry room with a door to the garage and one to the backyard. She went through the outside door and held it open for me. " After you, sir," she said, trying a British accent. I laughed and walked through the doorway into their small backyard. There, I saw an adorable little toddler and a very thin blonde boy playing in the mud. The little boy, I thought, he can't be Chubby, can he? But then Catherine called their names.

" Melody! Chubby! Come over here, we have a guest." She called. So I guess Chubby really is just a nickname…

As the boy and girl came closer, I could see that they had mud all over them. But this didn't stop Catherine from running over to them and picking up the girl.

" Chubby, what were you guys doing?" she asked, turning to the boy.

" Mud cakes!!!!!" cried the little girl, " Mud cakes! Mud cakes!"

" Oh mud cakes, ay," said Catherine, putting the girl down, " Well then I guess you don't need any real cake do you?"

The girls face lit up. " Cake! Cake! Cake!" she began to run to the door as fast as her little toddler legs could carry and accidentally ran into me. I didn't fall, but she wasn't so lucky. She stumbled and fell right back onto her bottom. I guess she didn't mind though. Wow, I thought, diapers do work as air bags… She looked up at me and turned her head to the side, her muddy hair falling away to reveal a big pair of blue eyes.

" Who dat?" she said to no one in particular. Catherine walked over and stood beside me.

" This?" she said, pointing at me, " This is Soda. He brought a big chocolate cake for you to eat!" The girl gasped and clapped her muddy hands onto her already muddy face. Then she grinned and hugged my legs.

" Tank you cakeman." She said, resting her head just above my knee. I melted. This was the most adorable little girl I had ever seen in my life. I picked her up and gave her my best smile. She giggled and rested her head on my shoulder. Our bond started right then.

Catherine and the little boy came over a few seconds later. " See, I told you she'd love you." Said Catherine, smiling again. Gosh she smiles a lot. "Anyways, that is Melody and this little muddy buddy over here is Chubby. He's Cassy's biological brother. The rest of us aren't related at all."

I put Melody down and she grabbed my hand as we walked into the house. "So," I said; I was about to start a rather sticky subject, " You guys are all…" Catherine cut me off. We stopped walking.

" Orphans? Parentless? Yeah, and have been for a while." I was surprised that the subject didn't seem to bother her.

" And it doesn't bother you to talk about it?" I asked. It bugs me, it bugs Pony, and it bugs Darry, too. Heck it even bugs Steve…

" Well, it doesn't bug me. It used too. You see I never knew my parents, Soda. My parents when I was like, three days old. I'm not sure how. I have no known relatives, so obviously I went to an orphanage. However, some of us knew our parents, so it's not something we generally talk about. Like Andy," she said, pointing to the laundry room window where he was unloading another box. "He knew his parents. They died when he was five. So did his siblings. And Tessa," she said, pointing to the window where we could see Tessa painting a flower onto her wall, "Her parents were abusive and her brother wouldn't take her."

" And Cassy and me, too." Said a small voice from Catherine's side. It was Chubby talking. "We knew our parents too." He said, quietly. I knelt down next to him.

" So did I little man. So did I." I said quietly, ruffling his muddy hair.

" Well, look at us!" cried Catherine, obviously changing the subject on purpose, "We're all muddy! Especially you, Melly. Now lets get cleaned up so we can eat some cake!"

We walked back into the house and headed for the kitchen, where Sarah was with Fuzzy. Sarah gasped as she saw us.

" Melody! Charlie! You're all muddy." She cried. Charlie, that's what his real name was… " And you got them all muddy, too. Come with me…" She sighed and headed towards the bathroom with them. I could hear Melody screaming for cake the whole way.

" She really wants cake, doesn't she," I said, laughing.

" Yeah," said Catherine. I looked at my watch and was surprised to see I had been there for over two hours.

" Well, I got to run," I said heading for the door, " It was nice to meet you guys."

" Thank you so much for the cake. It looks delicious." Said Catherine, who was following me to the door. I turned around as I walked out of the house and smiled.

" Hey, not a problem…" then I got an idea, " You know, if you want to, would you guys like to come over for dinner later?" Darry'll kill me…oh well, I already said it!

Catherine looked puzzled, " All eight of us?" she questioned.

" Yeah, its not a problem. It will give you guys a chance to meet my gang."

" Gang?" she questioned.

" Steve, Two-Bit, and my brothers. We're not really a gang or anything." Well, at least not anymore…

" That sounds great!" she said, " What time?"

" Seven-ish. I mean we live right next door." I pointed to our house.

" Alright, thanks, I'll see you then." She replied. I began to walk back to my house. As I got inside, I saw Ponyboy on the couch, reading a book.

" Start cleaning Ponyboy," I said, smiling happily, " We're gonna have company tonight…"

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am sick right now, and am have been bed-ridden for the day, and maybe longer, so expect more chapters soon. Some of my best ideas come when I am nauseous and/or puking my guts out. Just today, I realized what I pity it was that I didn't put stairs in their house. I could have had a lot of fun with stairs…

Anyways, buh-bye now!


	7. Adonis, Art, and Allaround Smirking

Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders, blahdiblahblahblah…

Author's Note: Not only was there an incredibly long wait between chapters, but also this is an incredibly short chapter. Both of these are symptoms of a horrific disease that attacks most writers at one time or another. Its…writer's block! AAAAAAHHHHH! And at the moment, it is attacking me. I have a lot of ideas for this story, but its formulating words that is irking me. The best way to overcome this terrible disease is to…keep writing. So that is exactly what I am going to do…Thanks to all that reviewed. Now on with the story. I think this author's note is longer than the chapter…

Chapter 7

Adonis, Art, and All-around Smirking

Catherine's POV

As Soda walked down out the front gate and back to his house, I just stood there at the door watching him. And not just because his butt is adorable either. Not to say that it isn't, it totally is. That's just not why I was staring. I watched him walk all the way to his front door, and go inside. Then, I closed the door and turned around.

Of course, Tessa was behind me, giggling like an infatuated idiot. I'm supposed to be the infatuated idiot! My eyes narrowed, my lips thinned, and I glared at her.

" Shut up. Its not like that." Hell, yeah it was! Well, I wish it was.

" Oh, don't tell me that," she replied, " He's Adonis." I trudged past her to our room and shut the door behind me. I flopped onto my bed, and stuck a pillow over my face. The only problem was that it was Tessa's room, too, and there wasn't a lock on the door.

" You have to admit he is hot," she said, coming to sit down on my bed next to me. " And he was totally into you."

I popped up. " Was not." I replied.

" Was too, and he invited us over. He wouldn't do that unless he was into you."

" His brother works with Andy! He could have asked him to! He was just trying to be polite. Besides, Sarah's so much prettier than I am…" She is. I've always envied Sarah for her looks. She's like a porcelain doll.

Tessa rolled her eyes at me and climbed onto her bunk. She began painting again, all the while smirking mirthfully at me.

" Shut up," I groaned and put the pillow back over my head.

" I'm not saying anything." She said, obviously laughing.

" Your looks scream volumes." I replied, getting up from the bed. Then I remembered something.

" Tess, what can you tell me about Ponyboy Curtis."

She looked down at me, " Soda's brother?" I nodded. She set down her paints again and climbed down. " Why do you ask?" She looked nervous, like she had before when I introduced her to Soda. Then it dawned on me…and it was my turn to smirk.

" You like him don't you?"

" What! No, Pony is…a nice guy. He's…ack! Kitty!" Tessa turned beet red and buried her head in her hands.

Ha! Who's turn is it now!, was what I wanted to shout at her but I couldn't. She really likes this guy… "Well," I said instead, " now that this is all out in the open, we have a dinner to get ready for don't we?" She looked up and then at her watch.

" But its only five…"

" And you have paint in your hair. Not the greatest way to impress a guy now is it?"

" Says the girl with mud all over her jeans."

" Yes, but do I have anyone to impress."

" Yes, and his name begins with an S and ends with an odapop."

" Fine, whatever. Lets go. We have to find where Sarah put the suitcases…" I opened the door to our room just as Melody ran down the hallway, in her diaper, covered in chocolate cake. Right behind her came Fuzzy, also covered in cake, and after him, Sarah, covered in cake and yelling at the two of them.

" Looks like we're not the only ones who will need cleaning up." Said Tessa and we both laughed.

To Be Continued…


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